Member Profile
Joel L. A. Peterson, PhD
Dr. Joel Peterson is currently Vice Chancellor and Executive Operations Officer at the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD).
He oversees all operations, enterprise services, and facilities for one of California’s largest community college districts with four colleges, 10 campuses, and 100,000 students. Dr. Peterson’s responsibilities include oversight of the SDCCD Police Department, public safety, and parking services; student housing, food and retail services; fleet management, warehousing, and inventory management services; capital purchasing and contracts; leasing, property management, and acquisitions; risk management, workers comp, and occupational safety and health; special events and conference services; sustainability and energy management, and all maintenance, repair, and renovations of all buildings, grounds, and equipment; as well as all planning, design, and construction including SDCCD’s current $3.5 billion bond construction program. Dr. Peterson held similar roles at Glendale Community College and at Harvey Mudd College.
Dr. Peterson is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he studied nuclear engineering and economics as a Rodman Scholar and an Echols Scholar. He earned his PhD in Higher Education Leadership and Master of Arts in Education Finance from Claremont Graduate University and his MBA in Finance and Management Information Systems from Virginia Tech. Before entering higher education, Dr. Peterson’s corporate career included: Vice President of U.S. Corporate Banking for Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Executive Director for global mergers and acquisitions at BellSouth Corp, and Senior Vice President and COO of all European lines of business at Century Link. Dr. Peterson is a decorated, former Lieutenant Commander, having served seven years active duty in the U.S. Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer.
